1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of real property, particularly ownership of real property and legal process such as foreclosure applied against interests in real property and on-line services for assisting in economic participation in foreclosures.
2. Background of the Art
Four percent of all homes sold in the United States will eventually go to foreclosure. There are several types of conditions that lead to foreclosures and several types of foreclosures. Divorce, loss of employment or loss of life, are the most common reasons for a foreclosure to occur. A foreclosure is what happens when the lender of the money to buy the home is not paid back in a timely way. When one of the three situations listed above transpires and the homeowner is not adequately prepared, a foreclosure is most likely to be the end result. Soon after one of the big three occur the homeowner is several months behind and the mortgage holder will not negotiate with the homeowner as special exemptions cannot be made for every home owner going through difficult times. It seems evil and possibly oppressive but very often a foreclosure can be the best thing for the homeowner. Removing the pressure and allowing the homeowner to potentially live in the house for several months free of charges.
After the homeowner has vacated the home, it is given to the government agency that insured (FHA) or guaranteed (VA) the mortgage. This agency will begin the process of cleaning and appraising the property. The fact that these houses are so plentiful does not allow the federal government to determine the debt of each house independently. The homes are sold for the appraised value at the time of sale. When a property is under appraised it is given a list price below the market value. These under appraised homes are not a rarity.
In truth the vast number of these properties can produce a numbers of under valued properties. Appraisers are asked to perform ten to twenty appraisals in a single week, far more appraisals than can be performed with the degree of accuracy normally associated with a normal appraisal. These appraisers bid on the job of appraising thousands of properties at once and rely on volume in order to make a profit. With volume come mistakes. These mistakes can and do go both ways. There are no available systems that assist in both listing properties prior to actual foreclosure and valuing the individual properties to assist purchasers and governmental organizations in the successful economic treatment of these properties.
Public notices such as notices of foreclosure, notices of public sale, notices relating to class action law suits, legal notices and the like are frequently required by law to be published or otherwise made available to the public. Such notices are frequently published in a newspaper, magazine, gazette, journal or the like which may be made available to the public. Various newspapers, for example, have carried legal and other public notices for many years. All such notices must comply with the local legal standards, and when a federal agency is involved in the property or the loan, with the federal standard of notice.
By themselves, newspapers, journals, magazines and the like typically exhibit a number of marked disadvantages, however. First, newspapers are typically made of paper and therefore require physical resources (trees, dyes, and the like) that may be scarce, expensive and/or environmentally unsound. Moreover, paper journals are characterized by numerous disadvantages relating to distribution and information retrieval. For a member of the public to gain access to a particular notice, for example, he or she must purchase the journal (which may or may not be readily available in that person's area) and then manually scan the pubic notices section for public notices of interest. Because many journals routinely publish dozens, hundreds or even thousands of public notices over relatively short periods of time, it can be extremely difficult for relevant members of the public to locate and read those notices that may affect them.
U.S. Published patent application 2004/0010443 describes a quarterly index projects geographic market risk for 200 MSA's (metropolitan statistical areas) over the next four to eight quarters. The index ratings use a grading scale that ranges from 1 to 10. A score of 1 indicates that an MSA is very unlikely to experience further decline in the model variables, which include home prices, local economy, population stability, and mortgage delinquency trends. A grade of 10 indicates the greatest chance for future decline. For example, a score of a 10 would indicate that it would be a good time to pull out of a market; whereas, a score of a 1 indicates a market that is a good investment.
There are also hundreds of websites that can lead individuals to lists of foreclosed properties, and provide manuals for purchasing such properties, but these address properties much further down the foreclosure stream than is necessary for good business direction.